Harris County, Texas commissioner slams guaranteed income programs: 'They don't change anything'

One of the members of the Harris County, Texas governing body stood alone in rejecting a guaranteed income program, arguing that the $20 million that was used for the program should've been redirected somewhere else.

"I'm an engineer with 40-something years experience, working with 20 counties in Texas, 50 cities in Texas. And what I do know is $20 million could have been taken to any underserved neighborhood in Harris County and would have been helpful for [15 to 20,000] people — ten times as many people could have been helped," Tom Ramsey of Precinct 3 told Fox News Digital.

The guaranteed income program called Uplift Harris, which passed the Harris County Commissioners Court by a 4-1 vote last year, was funded with $20.5 million from the federal American Rescue Plan Act. Houston, the largest city in Texas, makes up most of Harris County's population.

The Harris County Commissioners Court is an elected body of four policymaking actors and the county judge that meets bi-weekly to serve Harris County, Texas. The county judge serves as the county's chief executive officer.

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Last week, the commissioners were reportedly looking to revive Uplift Harris after it was struck down by the Texas Supreme Court.

Harris County officials met to discuss reviving the program, but would place some spending restrictions on participants. The proposed restrictions were to limit the funds to approved spending categories, a move that Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said should prevent any legal challenges against the program.

The Harris County Commissioners Court last week brought up two options for reviving Uplift Harris. One of them is re-enrolling participants with a debit card and placing stricter restrictions on spending, according to Houston Public Media.

Many of the members of the Commissioners Court supported this option, the Houston Landing reported.

"The second option would require requiring a new application and selection process, as well as a new vendor to operate the program," according to the outlet.

The new program has not been approved yet. The commissioners will discuss details about the proposed revisions to Uplift Harris further at the next scheduled Commissioners Court meeting, a spokesperson told Fox News Digital.

Ramsey added that the data does not show that guaranteed income programs work.

"They don't change anything. You look at the data in terms of where they are two years later, three years later, it hadn't happened," he said.

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A recent survey showed that Austin, Texas' guaranteed income program helped address the problem of housing insecurity in the city. Austin’s city council in April approved a $1.3-million contract to keep its guaranteed income program running after it launched in 2022.

Some studies have shown that the pilots have produced positive results, Fox News Digital previously reported. 

However, some of these programs face funding and legal challenges, including a guaranteed income program in St. Louis that was halted due to a court order last month.

The effort to revive Uplift Harris came after the Texas Supreme Court issued a ruling in June that prohibited Harris County from operating the program. 

The court raised "serious doubt" about the constitutional merits of the program. 

Uplift Harris was never able to distribute the funds due to the court order. It would have distributed $500 per month for 18 months to selected participants, The program started on Jan. 12, and enrolled over 1,900 applicants among a pool of more than 85,000 applications. 

The Texas Supreme Court's ruling on Uplift Harris came after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit arguing that Uplift Harris is "plainly unconstitutional." Paxton's lawsuit stemmed from Republican State Sen. Paul Bettencourt urging the attorney general to review Uplift Harris' constitutional merits. 

Ramsey, the only Republican in the Harris County Commissioners Court, argued further that his fellow Harris County commissioners are trying to "sidestep" the attorney general's concerns about the program.

"All they're trying to do is sidestep the attorney general's concerns related to it," Ramsey said.

He continued, "I'm glad he did it. I hope he's paying attention. I'll hope he'll engage at this point and see it for what it is. But, I don't think any of my concerns have been addressed in terms of who is being considered and the big scope of it. Twenty million dollars could change a neighborhood for 50 years."

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In response to Harris County Commissioners Court efforts to revive Uplift Harris, Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee told Fox News Digital that the "current program is legal."

"The county may create a new program with spending restrictions to address politically charged challenges brought by Republican officials. It is my hope that this new program will not bring another lawsuit from the AG, and allow Harris County residents to receive much needed relief," Menefee told Fox News Digital.

Menefee previously defended the program against Paxton's lawsuit, arguing that the Texas Constitution contains existing state statutes enabling counties to issue cash assistance that serves a "public purpose designed to benefit the entire county."